How did they actually do it? Graham Cluley, Sophos guesses that they simply accessed the voicemail boxes of the phones concerned. This could be done by a little social engineering. Simply contact the phone provider claiming to be the individual concerned, with a little 'personal' information to convince them. Even easier, try the default PIN code - many people don't change it.
Some suggestions to stop this happening to you:
- Change your mobile phone PIN code from the default to something only you know.
- Keep your private personally identifiable information (things like your mother's maiden name) secret. That's difficult to do I know...
- Do you really want voicemail anyway? Many people find it frustating - often a text is more useful. In that case, just disable it.
Finally, read confessions of a tabloid hack for a revealing insight into the illegal activities of the press.
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